It was a long and important, but often tedious, day in the courtroom today as part of Slava Voynov proceedings. Voynov, the Kings defenseman, faces one felony count of spousal abuse tied to an alleged incident with his wife at their Redondo Beach home last October.

Superior Court Judge Eric C. Taylor sought Monday to rule whether Voynov’s wife, Marta Varlamova, should be compelled to testify at the trial and whether pre-trial statements made by Varlamova to six other witnesses should be tossed out.

(For the sake of background info, Voynov is alleged to have punched, kicked and choked his wife during the incident. Through their lawyers, Voynov and Varlamova have called the incident an accident, and Varlamova said she did not wish to have Voynov charged with a crime.)

Today’s proceedings in Torrance started with the question of whether Varlamova would refuse to testify at trial. In previous hearings, and in documents filed with the court, her lawyer — Irvine-based Michael Walsh — indicated that Varlamova would refuse to testify, primarily out of privacy concerns. Walsh reiterated that stance at the start of Monday’s hearing, and the judge asked Varlamova (who had been sitting in the audience) to come forward and confirm her refusal to testify. She did. Judge Taylor said he ”would prefer not to hold (Varlamova) in contempt” but said he had the right to do so, and indicated that he would. Taylor indicated that his sanction would be a fine of less than $1,000, but Walsh expressed concern about immigration issues for Varlamova (a Russian citizen) should she be held in contempt.

As something of a compromise, Taylor asked Walsh if Varlamova would agree to domestic-violence counseling, something she had previously declined. Taylor indicated his hope that, after counseling, Varlamova would change her mind and be open to testifying at trial. After consulting with her lawyer outside the courtroom, Varlamova said she would accept the counseling through the NHL Players’ Association. It’s not yet known when the counseling sessions will begin, or when the question of Varlamova’s refusal to testify will be revisited.

The judge then moved on to the witnesses, and the motion filed by the defense to ”exclude involuntary pretrial statements” made by Varlamova on the night of the alleged incident.

The judge started with Justin Weber, a social worker employed by Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, where Varlamova sought treatment the night of the incident. Voynov’s lawyer, Pamela Mackey, argued that Weber’s statements should be inadmissable because of therapist-client privilege. Deputy District Attorney Frank Dunnick said there was no such relationship between Varlamova and Weber, and that by the nature of his job, Weber was required to report incidents of domestic violence. This issue was debated for a while, then tabled while the judge moved on to other witnesses. More on this later.

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The defense further argued that statements made by Varlamova to five other witnesses should be tossed out because of their belief that Varlamova was coerced into giving the statements.

First up was Lily Juantuah, a nurse at Little Company of Mary. Under questioning, Juantuah said she had been assigned to Varlamova and told by a superior that Varlamova was a possible victim of domestic violence. Juantuah said she encoutered Varlamova in an emergency-room hallway and that Varlamova was ”very anxious. She was pacing and … seemed upset, teary, I’d say. She had a laceration to her left eyebrow.” Juantuah said she noted no other injuries to Varlamova.

Juantuah said she asked Varlamova about the cause of the cut but that Varlamova was focused only on receiving treatment. ”She wasn’t willing to go into details with me,” Juantuah said. ”She kept redirecting (and asking) if we could help her.” Juantuah did say, of Varlamova, ”The one thing I remember is, she said she hit the TV stand.” Juantuah said she offered to get the services of a Russian translator but that Varlamova ”got upset and said, ‘Can you fix this or not?’ Juantuah testified that she remembered Varlamova ”asking if she was going to have a scar. She asked if she should get a mirror.”

Under cross examination, Juantuah said that at the time she first encountered Varlamova, Varlamova was threatening to leave the hospital because she wasn’t receiving what she believed to be proper treatment. According to Juantuah, the only thing Varlamova said about her injury was, ”I hit TV,” and that Varlamova never explained the details. Juantuah said that Varlamova did use the Russian translator near the end of her stay at the hospital, when she received information about how to treat her cut once she left the hospital.

Back under questioning from the DA, Juantuah said Varlamova had calmed down significantly by the time she agreed to talk to the Russian translator. Before that, Juantuah said, Varlamova ”would get up and pace and kept asking me, ‘Are you going to help me?”’ Juantuah agreed with the DA’s wording that Varlamova was ”hysterical” during the early part of her hospital visit.

The judge then asked Juantuah why she persistently asked Varlamova how her injury took place. Juantuah said that was routine procedure, in order to assess and treat a patient. Juantuah indicated she had concerns that if Varlamova had taken a hit to the head, she might have suffered internal injuries in addition to the cut.

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Next up was Ronnie Liston, a public-safety officer at the hospital, who said he first saw Varlamova inside the hospital’s atrium area as he was about to ”clock out” at the end of his shift. Liston noted that Varlamova was alone and crying.

”She approached me and I said, ‘Can I help you?”’ Liston told the DA. Liston didn’t indicate whether he received an answer but said that, around that time, Voynov pulled up in his car and asked Liston where he could park. Liston said he directed Voynov to a parking lot and Voynov followed the instructions, and Liston then turned his attention back to Varlamova.

”She looked scared. She looked a little shaken. I had a funny feeling that something wasn’t all there, or right or correct,” Liston testified. Liston said he walked Varlamova toward the emergency room and attempted to ask her what happened to her. ”She didn’t say much,” Liston said. ”She mostly cried. … She said, ‘I’m scared.’ She mentioned something about, ‘He’s rich.”’

Liston said he radioed to the emergency room and informed them of Varlamova’s impending arrival and his opinion that she might have been a victim of domestic violence. Asked why he suspected that, Liston told the DA, ”It looked like it might be some type of fight between two domestic partners. It seemed like she was afraid of someone or something. It looked like she had been in a scuffle.”

Liston told the DA he continued to try to identify the cause of Varlamova’s injury. Liston testified that he told Varlamova, ”’You don’t have to be scared. In this country, if it’s a violent situation, you can speak up.’ She paused for a couple minutes and started to cry. I said, ‘You don’t have to be scared.’ She looked me in the eye and said, ‘He hit me.”’

Liston said that by the time he helped Varlamova to the emergency room, ”She still appeared to be shaken, but it almost looked like she was relieved that we were helping.” Asked by the DA about Voynov, Liston said, ”He seemed to be said, I guess. Very concerned, I guess. He was concerned for her.” Liston said that, at one point, Voynov tried to approach Varlamova but that Liston told him to keep a distance. That, Liston testified, was his standard approach when dealing with a possible domestic-violence issue.

Voynov’s attorney, Pamela Mackey, cross-examined Liston and went into sharp detail about whether Liston and Varlamova understood each other during their discussions. Mackey attempted to point out inconsistencies, on that issue, between what Liston said in court Monday and what he said in a March interview with the DA. Mackey noted, during a question, that Varlamova never mentioned being hit by Voynov until Liston specifically asked her if she had been hit.

Under further questioning from the DA, Liston was asked specifically what he said to Varlamova before she made the allegation that Voynov hit her. Liston said, ”I was explaining to her that she doesn’t have to be scared. She began to cry and she said, ‘He hit me.”’ Liston said that at no point did Varlamova describe the incident as an accident.

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Next was Abigail Parcon, the ”charge nurse” in the emergency room when Varlamova arrived.

Parcon said she first encountered Parcon in the lobby outside the ER and that Varlamova ”was anxious. She wanted to be seen by a doctor and be fixed. She wanted to be seen immediately.” Parcon said Varlamova’s voice ”was a little shaky” but that she had no trouble understanding Varlamova’s words.

Under cross-examination, Parcon said that when she saw Varlamova, Voynov was standing 5 to 6 feet away, and at no point did Voynov attempt to interfere with any of Varlamova’s treatment. Parcon also said that she never spoke to Varlamova about what caused the cut on her head.

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Next was Cassie Wong, an ER nurse whose job is to give an initial exam of patients and determine the serverity of their injuries. Wong said that before she encountered Varlamova, she had gotten word from Parcon that Varlamova was a possible victim of domestic violence.

Wong said Varlamova ”was crying, upset. She appeared anxious to me and a little nervous.” Wong said she asked Varlamova what had brought her to the ER but that, ”At first, she didn’t answer my questions. She just said, ‘Fix my head. Fix my head.”’ Wong said she was also concerned because Varlamova mentioned a child who might have been left alone at home when Varlamova and Voynov drove to the hospital.

Ultimately, Wong said, Varlamova shared some details of what allegedly happened to her. ”She told me she came hoem from a party and he [Voynov] pushed her into a TV stand. She said, ‘My husband pushed me into the TV stand.’ She did say that wasn’t the first time this has happened.”

Wong said that, at one point, social worker Justin Weber came into the ER room. Wong stayed as a witness so that Varlamova wouldn’t be left alone with Weber, a man, and reiterated that she had no trouble understanding Varlamova’s English. Wong said that by the time she handed off care of Varlamova to another nurse, Varlamova had calmed down.

Under cross-examination, Wong said she went into the waiting-room area to talk to Voynov and inquire about the child who might have been left alone at home. Wong said that Voynov said he was arranging for someone to go to the house to be with the child, and Wong said Voynov was polite throughout their entire interaction.

This led to a lengthy, tedious discussion between Wong and defense attorney Mackey about whether Wong actually heard Varlamova say, in English, that she had been pushed into the TV stand, or whether she heard it from Weber after Varlamova talked to a Russian translator. Mackey showed Wong a transcript of a previous interview in order to point out an apparent contradiction in Wong’s testimony.

Near this point, Walsh (Varlamova’s lawyer) objected to Wong’s further testimony and revisisted the issue involving Weber, the social worker. Walsh reiterated that statements Varlamova made to Weber should be privileged, and thus not made public or made part of the court record, because of Weber’s status as a clinical social worker. Walsh said Weber ”was acting as a psychotherapist” and that his interaction with Varlamova should be covered as privilege.

This led to a lengthy discussion about Weber’s official title — he was brought into court briefly to confirm that he is a ”clinical social worker” — and whether or not Varlamova actually consented to receive ”treatment” from Weber. The judge indicated, without specifically saying so, that if Varlamova didn’t consent to treatment, there was no privilege. There was more lengthy discussion about the nature of Varlamova’s interaction with Weber, and the scope of it. Finally, Walsh agreed to allow Judge Taylor to read the transcript of Varlamova’s hospital interaction with Weber, in order to help the judge determine whether there was any privilege and whether those statements should be thrown out.

Taylor went to his chambers to read the transcript and returned but, after further arguments from Walsh, said he would wait until Tuesday to make a ruling on Varlamova’s statements to Weber.

So, the parties will be back in court Tuesday. Taylor is expected to rule on Varlamova’s statements to Weber. The court is also expected to hear the rest of Wong’s testimony, plus testimony from Redondo Beach Police officer Gregory Wiest, who interviewed Varlamova on the night of the incident. There might also be more details on the timetable involving Varlamova’s impending domestic-violence counseling.

Rich Hammond was a high school senior when the Rams left town in 1995, and now he's their beat writer for the Southern California News Group. A native of L.A., Rich broke in at the Daily Breeze as a college freshman and also has covered USC, the Kings, the Lakers and the Dodgers. He still loves sports and telling stories. Don't take the sarcastic tweets too seriously.

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